Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Does the Quality of Software Suffer due to Outsourcing?

More and more businesses are hearing about the possibility of outsourcing their software needs. Yet a common question that pop up is does the quality of the programming suffer due to this process? Depending on who you ask though you can get a variety of answers to that one simple question. That is because not everyone has the same experience with it.

When you hire employees for your business to do software programming they know what the business is about every day. They also are in house so you can have meetings with them, see what is going on, and they can ask for input from other employees about certain aspects of the programming. They also know if they don’t do a good job for you that they will be fired. With that on their resume it will be harder to find another job. There is also the fact that the job market can be tight so no one wants to be left out there with no income.

With outsourcing though it works differently. Freelancers get to pick and choose which work they are willing to take on. They can be located anywhere in the world so it isn’t the same as working with them in house. There is also no guarantee that the individual you choose will be competent or motivated enough to complete the work. These types of things are what can lead the rumors to start up that the quality of the software is going to suffer when you outsource it.

Since most business owners out there aren’t willing to sacrifice quality to save some money this can pose a problem. However, it is important to realize that as the buyer of such software you have much more control about what takes place. No one becomes an employee of your business without your consent and careful selection. Why then would you ever hire a freelancer for programming work without the same things being evaluated?

If you do your part to carefully interview the skills and the level of responsibility that a freelancer is offering you won’t have to sacrifice quality. You will be able to connect with someone that is both willing and able to get the work done for you. Outsourcing should be viewed as a same alternative. It should be looked at as a way to get the same quality of work for a lower price.

You may also discover that you are able to get better quality due to working one on one with the programmer. They can take on any size of project so they are going to get to the core of what you need right away. If they are dedicated to working on only one software programming job at a time then they can often get it done in a very short time frame as well.

Some how a misconception has gotten loose in society that outsourcing means you aren’t working with qualified individuals. That simply isn’t the truth though so don’t let such rumors hold you back. Many freelancers in the area of programming prefer to work this way so they can be their own boss and set their own work hours. Others may live in a country where they don’t need that type of work as much but they can get plenty of work coming in from those countries that do.

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